It’s understandable why people are so shortsighted when it comes to worldly issues of large magnitude. The classic Hierarchy of Needs by Abraham Maslow comes to mind. If the majority of a population is continuously concerned about basic needs such as physiological and safety needs (financial, personal, perceived safety, etc.), they are unable to rise their beings above those concerns into further focuses such as love, belonging, meaning, and self-actualization. But as easy as it is to give a population a pass due to misaligned circumstances, there are certain issues that face an entire populace that deserve immediate and full attention.
What we are doing to our planet since the Industrial Revolution is quite absurd. This is a virtual scientific consensus, and proving this scientific consensus is not what the purpose of this piece is. It’s simply not a matter of “if” our actions are causing the environmental issues we face as a world population. It’s happening. To quote Martin O’Malley, a rare politician who is an avid advocate for sustainability, “To those who say climate change is not caused by human activity or that addressing it will harm the economy, let’s encourage them to go to college, too, and to study physics and to study economics, but for the rest of us, let’s get to work.”
No, I’d rather not give that pass. When an issue has as far-reaching consequences as our indifference towards our own living spaces does, it deserves no pass. Let the Green Bronx Machine serve as an example. This is a school program in the South Bronx which teaches kids to grow organic foods sustainably, within an urban area and within one of the poorest congressional districts in the United States. They rise above the circumstances that are supposed to limit them to contribute to the well-being of the world, while still staying afloat and living within reasonable circumstances (and this is besides the huge impact on the strength of the region’s educational system).
Let Elon Musk serve as an example. A lofty-minded billionaire who is committed to creating a sustainable infrastructure, he could easily invest in rotten, poisonous investments that are aloof towards the health of our living spaces. Instead, he starts Tesla Motors, an electric car company, SpaceX, a company that has goals of reaching Mars, and SolarCity, a company invested in solar technology. He has spoken of reducing the risk of human extinction and of making human life multi-planetary. He would rather push human existence in the right direction, instead of taking his money and running.
So what’s your excuse, reader? Too busy? Too expensive? Won’t make a difference anyways? Your excuse is invalid. Do you recycle? Do you take short showers? Do you conserve your water? Do you push for activism? Do you buy organic and local? Do you make a conscious effort to eat less meat? Do you buy processed foods? Do you carpool? Do you cook a lot? Do you buy bottled water (shame on you)? Do you ask your friends about their choices? Do you keep yourself updated on news? Do you vote in local politicians that will protect your living spaces? Do you know your carbon footprint? Do you attempt to reduce it?
See, we aren’t trying. We don’t care. When will we? When we don’t have running water? When oil runs out? When our infrastructure collapses? When the bees die? When we have wars over clean water? The time to act was yesterday. Yet, it’s not too late. When it comes to saving our planet, be lofty. Be Elon Musk. Be Stephen Ritz, founder of the Green Bronx Machine. Rise up on Maslow’s hierarchy. Don’t let your circumstances define your being. CARE!
